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Peja's Wonderful World of Makebelieve Import
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Published:
2020-11-05
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525
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1/1
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Names

Summary:

He hates being called Brainy…by anyone but Lyle.

Work Text:

Names  

 

He hates being called Brainy.

 

Brainiac, is, at least, a title, such as Doctor, one that both signifies his advanced intelligence and his family line. Querl is his given name, and he’s never, actually, had anyone call him by it.

 

Save for his mother, once, presumably. When she named him at birth, before leaving him forever.

 

Dox is, again, a title. His…family name, for lack of better terminology, since his teammates in the Legion are more familial than anyone he might be related to by blood or technology.

 

However, his teammates in the Legion are also very…Earthly. Despite most of them not being of or from Earth, they still embrace the Earther’s philosophy of life, and language, and…nicknames.

 

Thus, everyone calling him ‘Brainy.’ It sounds demeaning to him, just another adjective, denoting that he is intelligent – and not even the degree to which that is such. And no one listens to him when he asks them not to call him that.

 

He hates being called Brainy. If people had to stick him with a nickname (as if saying three syllables is so much more work than saying two) why couldn’t it be B5? Grife, they could call him Querl, and he wouldn’t hate that even one iota as much.

 

Though…sometimes he’s not sure anyone around him remembers that they have real names, as opposed to code names. There is surely some deep-seated psychological reason behind that, but the softer sciences have never been his forte. All he needs to know is that, should he ever wish to spend time with his teammates in a more casual atmosphere, he won’t have to agonize (as if he would) over the form of address to be used.

 

Charles Taine is Chuck, and Gear and Gates have accepted their new pseudonyms in place of their complex native names that most Legionnaires (Querl not among them, of course) have trouble pronouncing. Imra is generally Imra, but mostly only to Cosmic Boy and Live Wire. Live Wire is Garth only to his sister; likewise, Spark is Ayla only to her brother.

 

Violet is ‘Vi,’ not Salu or even Sal. She seems to be the only open that remembers that Kinetix’s name is Zoe. Triad is generally the only one to refer to herselves as Lu – never Luornu – except for R. J. Brande. XS is Jenni only rarely, except, perhaps, to her time-displaced cousin. Chameleon likes being called ‘Cham’ and is the only one to call Sensor ‘Jeka.’ Ultra-Boy is called Jo half the time, but mostly by Apparition. He returns the favor, being the only one outside of her mother to call Tinya by name.

 

Lyle is always Invisible Kid, or even just Kid. He never seems to mind, but then, most of his influence lies in not being seen – or at least not remembered.

 

Brainiac 5 can’t help but remember Lyle. Lyle was the one to first call him ‘Brainy.’

 

He hates being called Brainy. But when Lyle says it…it sounds… Lyle is his friend, perhaps his best friend, and when Lyle calls him ‘Brainy’ with that affectionately exasperated tone to his voice, it sounds…

 

Nice.